The power light is flickering/flashing whenever I try to print or when the unit is first turned on. The printer will not print. (Bravo, Bravo II, Bravo XR, Signature)

The power light is flickering/flashing whenever I try to print or when the unit is first turned on. The printer will not print. (Bravo, Bravo II, Bravo XR, Signature)

The blinking power light indicates that the unit has a cartridge problem. There could be several reasons for this:

1. Incorrect, defective or swapped cartridges. Each cartridge must be in the correct cartridge bin.

a. Make sure the black and color cartridges are not switched.
b. Make sure the correct cartridges are installed for your printer - The SignaturePro uses 053321 as the color cartridge. The Signature IV uses 053318 as the color cartridge.
c. Try new cartridges.

2. Defective barcode labels on the bottom of the cartridges. The unit senses the presence of a cartridge by scanning a barcode label on the bottom of each cartridge.

• Make sure there are no defects in the barcode labels: no scratches, nicks, or smeared ink on them.
• Make sure the cartridges are labeled correctly. The color cartridge label has a wider blue band than the black cartridge does, the labels need to be on the correct cartridge, wide=color, narrow=black. (See example Bravo Cartridges below.)
• Try new cartridges.

3. Dirty cartridge sensor. This is the sensor and LEDs inside the printer that sense the cartridges before each print, and on initialization. The red LED inside the printer is an indicator telling you that the cartridges are being sensed. The clear LED next to the red LED is what enhances the sensing of the cartridges. There is a tiny pinhole or slot just to the right or in between these two LEDs which actually does the sensing by reading the labels on the bottoms of the cartridges as they pass over the top of the sensor. These two LEDs and the sensor are all located inside the unit just to the right of the printer tray, and to the left of the ink cartridge carrier when it is docked at the camping station all the way to the right.

Clean the sensor using a Q-Tip or Cotton Swab. Make sure to use a generous amount of rubbing alcohol to saturate the pinhole or slot in order to effectively clean the actual sensor inside the plastic housing. See the diagrams below:

Bravo II Signature or Bravo I

4. Lighting. (BRAVO ONLY) - There may be too much light passing through the cover (or under the opening by the reject area) that is affecting the LEDs. Do you have fluorescent, or halogen lighting near the unit? If so, turn the lights off and try printing. Or, cover the Bravo lid with something (ex. - towel, paper, etc..) so that light cannot pass through and affect the LEDs. Firmware updates can also fix this issue - see next item.

5. Firmware. You can also download and install the Firmware update from our website to fix this issue.  http://www.primera.com/firmware_upgrade.html.

6. Defective or Dirty Cartridge Carriers.

• Take out both Cartridges, clean the copper contacts on the Cartridge Carrier with rubbing alcohol on a soft cloth.
• Take out the Black Cartridge, reset the unit. Change the driver preferences to Color Cartridge only. Try printing. If it works, try a new black cartridge. If it now works with both cartridges, you have a bad black cartridge. If it still doesn't work with the new black cartridge, you have a defective cartridge carrier which is shorting out the sensors causing the Bravo to not recognize the Cartridges. Note: You should be able to print just fine with just the color cartridge. In fact your prints will look better with color cartridge only. Even images with black print fine. The printer prints all three colors to create black. Typically if you print with color + black, even if you are printing black, the printer will still print the image with 70% color cartridge and 30% black. However, if this is the case there is still a problem with the Bravo that would require service.

Note on Signature IV Only. Since the Signature IV only has one cartridge, make sure the Ink Cartridge Setting in the Printer Driver Preferences corresponds to the cartridge actually installed in the printer. For example - if the color cartridge is installed, Ink Cartridge = Color should be set. To find preferences go to Start - Printers and Faxes - Right click on CD Color Printer IV - Choose Printing Preferences - Click Advanced.